MayDecember
by Lieutenant Caine
Summary: Like fine wine, some things just get better with age.  T just for safety although I think it's closer to a K


**May/December**

**No one has yet had the guts to address the fact that H is obviously getting a bit older on CSI-Miami. Even the best of make up artists can only do so much before the wear and tear of 50 plus years, 20 of which have been spent under TV and movie spotlights, begins to show through. Some would call him old. Others would call him "seasoned". I happen to agree with the second opinion ( My own birthday is not too far removed from Mr. Caruso's.) It is to this end that Athena has bent her thinking in crafting this story. It is more of a cerebral read than a visceral one, which is quite a change from her usual "burn up the boards with heated love scenes" fare.**

**I owe the typing of this story to a co-worker who graciously agreed to finish typing it for me and do the uploading onto the site. Athena refused to be denied in spite of my bum wrist. Thank you, Steven. You are a friend indeed. I owe you one, and the readers will thank you**

**H**

Horatio lay quietly watching the sleeping beauty at his side. Her face was relaxed in sleep and her hair spilled out over the pillow framing her head like a halo. The gentle rise and fall of her chest with each breath was hypnotic and Horatio let his mind drift back over the night of passion they'd shared. A reflective look settled in his blue eyes and he sighed quietly. Carefully he eased out of bed, wincing as an aching back muscle protested the change of position. He stood for a moment letting the stiffness receded and then quietly padded to the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror he looked long and hard at his reflection.

His hair was still the same fiery red it had always been, but here and there were hints of silver. The same blue eyes gazed back at him, as had done so in years past but now they carried a subtle look of world-weariness. Tiny lines creased the skin around his eyes giving him a weathered look and the skin was not as firm as it used to be. Once rippling shoulder muscles had lost a little of their definition. His chest had lost some of the chisled and sculpted look of his youth, and silver-white scars marred the skin of his back and ribs. His waist was a few inches thicker than he liked but still tapered down nicely to slender hips and well-toned thighs. Not a bad body all things considered. But it was those things considered that troubled Horatio.

Dressing in near silence, he got himself ready for the day and slipped quietly out of the bedroom. In the kitchen he poured himself a cup of coffee and then taking a piece of paper from the notepad by the phone he scribbled a quick note and left it on the table next to a clean coffee cup. Calleigh would find it when she unerringly made her way to the coffee pot.

_Good morning, Sweetheart. You were sleeping so peacefully I didn't want to wake you. Gone for a stroll on the beach. _

_I love you._

_Horatio._

Thin, early morning light filtered down through wispy clouds and a slight cool breeze made Horatio pull his denim jacket more snuggly about his body. Several hundred yards down the shore he stopped and sat down in his favorite spot. An old palm tree had fallen victim to the ravages of some past hurricane and lay partly buried in the sand. The twisted trunk made a perfect backrest. Very few people ever came this far away from the condos and so Horatio had the morning and the beach to himself. As he shifted into a more comfortable position, a muscle in his back twinged and he let out a stifled grunt. For a moment, pain radiated through his lower back and then the discomfort eased and he let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Face the truth, Horatio Caine," he muttered out loud to himself. "You are getting old, pure and simple."

Just saying it sent a chill through him and he buttoned his jacket up to the neck.

A kalaiedescope of images filtered through his mind and he sighed heavily as they slowly settled and coalesced into the beauty he loved with all his heart…Calleigh Marie Duquesne.

"Calleigh." He whispered her name and then dropped his head into his hands. _Oh how I love you, Calleigh. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, but I'm afraid…_

He didn't let himself finish that self-deprecating thought. The last time they'd had angry words it had been over that very thing, the one thing Calleigh had said she'd never wanted to hear him say again. _I'm too old for you, Sweetheart. You deserve someone younger. _She'd stormed out of the house that time and not returned until late into the night and then only after Horatio had called and pleaded with her to come home.

He was so lost in his reverie that he didn't hear the quiet footsteps behind him until a pair of small hands settled onto his shoulders and a soft voice whispered in his ear.

"Good morning, Handsome. You're up early."

"Calleigh," he breathed, turning his head to hers and greeting her with a sweet, lingering kiss.

"So…" she settled into his lap and snuggled against his chest with a contented sigh, "…you want to tell me what has you up and out of bed so early on a Saturday morning?"

"Just thinking, my love. Just thinking."

"I know you Horatio Caine.. When you are 'just thinking' you are never 'just thinking'. What's bothering you?"

"Calleigh…I know you said you didn't want me ever to speak of it again, but…" he stopped when Calleigh leaned in and kissed him softly.

"Horatio this is about the age difference issue again isn't it?" Her voice was soft and low, intimate with no hint of indictment in her tone.

"You know me so well, my love." His arms tightened around her and held her close to his heart. "Will you let me get it all out, Sweetheart? Will you let me voice all the fears?"

She looked up at him and her heart wrenched at the uncertainty she saw there in the depths of those blue eyes she loved so well. "If it will make you feel better, Handsome, you can talk all day. I'll listen as long as you want."

"Thank you for that, Calleigh." He dropped a sweet kiss on the top of her head before he began.

"First, you have to know that my fears hinge solely on me, Calleigh. Nothing is predicated on you." For a moment he paused, and let his eyes travel over her upturned face, adoration mixed with hesitance evident in his gaze. "I love you Calleigh, with all my heart, but I worry sometimes because we ARE so far apart in years. I'm 53 and you're 42. Eleven years difference, Sweetheart. I try not to think about it, but I do, because I love you so much that I hate thinking that I'm keeping you from something else you might could have. I worry that I am cheating you out of experiences that you might long for and need, but never express. I worry that you might be losing some of the best years of your life by spending them with an older man. I hate the thought of losing you, but the thought of you privately regretting anything we share is worse, and I'll admit, I'm torn. I love you, Calleigh. I need you. You're the best thing I've ever had in my life, but I'm afraid I'm holding you back. Look at you Sweetheart…you're the most beautiful thing that lab has seen in a long time, and yet you are with me, the old man of the team. Look at the silver in my hair, Calleigh. Look at the lines on my face. The scars of so many years can never be erased. I'm damaged goods, and I'm getting older."

Calleigh said nothing for several long moments. Finally she spoke.

"Do you remember what we promised when we first started seeing each other, Horatio?"

"Yes. I do. We promised that we wouldn't let the years make any difference in the way we felt about each other."

"Did you mean that, Horatio? Really mean it?"

"You know I did, my love."

"Then listen to me and hear me well, Horatio."

Her hand came up to caress his face and then moved to smooth back an errrant strand of hair that had teased down over his forehead.

"The lines on your handsome face tell the story of your character, Horatio, and what they tell me is that your character is sold gold. You've got a heart that is bigger than all of Miami. The scars are testimony to your tenacity in everything that you do, proof that you'll sacrifice yourself for those you care about and love. They're badges of honor. You've earned them honestly. You should wear them proudly, my love. The silver is merely experience and maturity. You wear them so effortlessly. On other men they might look "old" but on you they look distinguished, and very, very attractive. Maturity is what I was looking for when I foolishly went out with all those "others". All they wanted was a good time in bed or at the club. Most of them were either too young to really care about me and the way I felt, or they just didn't know how to show it. But you...you've been everything I've ever looked for. You're everything I want, everything I need. The lines, the scars, the silver…Horatio, they're all part of what made me fall in love with you. I wouldn't want you any other way. I don't want a younger man. I only want you, the good and the flawed. I love you just the way you are."

Tears filled his blue eyes and Horatio leaned into Calleigh's tender touch.

"Sweetheart, if you're sure…" He searched her face for any sign of hesitance and saw only pure, radiant love shining out from her eyes.

Desperately he held her close, feeling the warmth of her slender body thaw the icy grip of his anxiety. His lips sought out hers and he drank from her sweet mouth, over and over, igniting a raging fire of need that burned through the last of his worry, leaving him aching to feel her sweet soft skin beneath his hands.

"Calleigh, Calleigh…I love you so…" he couldn't hold her close enough, couldn't get enough of her sweet kisses, couldn't deny himself the freedom to touch and caress.

Finally it was Calleigh who gently pushed against his chest and leaned back to look up into his eyes. Her own eyes were dark with passion and desire and her voice was husky when she spoke.

"I think we need to take this back inside Handsome, unless you want to let everyone watch us making love."

"Not a chance, Sweetheart," he growled possessively. "I'd be insanely jealous if anyone else saw your gorgeous body and wanted you like I do."

"Don't you say the sweetest things?" She teased him.

"I only say them to you."

"Good. Because I'm just as jealous as you are, not to mention bullheaded too."

Hours later, they lay in bed wrapped in each other's arms, talking quietly after making love most of the afternoon.

"I love you, Calleigh." Horatio murmured.

"And I love you, Horatio." She answered.

Their lips met in a tender kiss, sealing that promise.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Downstairs in the breakfast room, a soft ocean breeze blew in through the open window and flipped the pages of the wall calendar from May to December and back again. In between those two dates was all the love two hearts could hold.


End file.
